Good day!How are you? I hope you're doing well because in Peninsula Bridge everything is great!
Having been part of the Peninsula Bridge program since I was in third grade (I am a junior now at UC Berkeley), I know there will always be amazing days filled with surprises. Last semester, I studied abroad in the cittá eterna, Roma. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. Each summer, I try to incorporate my elective courses with new knowledge I have acquired over the school year. In Italy, I took two intensive Italian language courses and quickly fell in love with the language. I therefore decided to teach my Peninsula Bridge students the language. In my elective course titled Coltura Italiana e Lingua Elementare (Italian Culture and Elementary Language), students learn Italian grammar, vocabulary and basic dialogue. Students have already learned Le Introduzione (Introductions), and Come Ordinare en un Ristorante (how to order in a restaurant). Every day, the course focuses on different Italian cities--cities which I visited in my stay-- and we discuss monuments, foods, culture and fashion; Rome, Venice, Pisa and Florence are among the cities the course focuses on.
I was a bit nervous on my first day because I did not know how far my Italian would take me, if I would be able to answer all the students' questions or if I would completely forget the language. To my surprise, Alejandra--one of the students in my course--came up to me and was excited to take the Italian course. When we started our lesson, she knew what I meant when I said Ciao Ragazzi! She then explained to me that she has been taking an Italian language course at her school and even won an award for being an excellent Italian student from the Italian consulate in San Francisco. The following day, Alejandra excitedly brought her Italian notebook and encouraged me to take "anything [I] need." Alejandra has become a student I can rely on for lesson plan ideas, handouts and--of course--una conversazione quasi fluente.I am happy to report that my Italian students are really into the course, and in the mornings I am greeted with buongiorno and ciao. After class, my students are happy to be able to speak Italian and say "see you tomorrow," ci vediamo domani.
Ciao for now,
Jose G.